


Settling In

by Palefire73



Series: Prisoners. The Chronicles of Loki and Erika [3]
Category: Loki - Fandom, Norse Gods - Fandom
Genre: Alternate Reality, F/M, Friendship, Imprisonment, Love, New Beginning, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-25
Updated: 2017-05-25
Packaged: 2018-11-04 22:01:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,091
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10999887
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Palefire73/pseuds/Palefire73
Summary: The success of Loki's imprisonment depends on him never discovering that he is actually in one. The Vision's calculations indicated that the level of success would be infinitely better if he had someone there who he loved and Erika has made the choice to go in there with him.Now that she has been there for a few hours, she reflects on her first day.





	Settling In

It was approaching sun set and Erika wiped the last of the newly washed plates dry with a cotton tea towel and placed it in the rack of the large wooden dresser which housed all of the crockery along with the cutlery, linen, silverware and various other items used for dining. Turning back to the suds-filled ceramic Butler sink, she let the water out and hung the dish cloth up to dry over it. She glanced around and noticed a few things which needed to be put away, but of course she did not know yet where they belonged and she decided to wait until Loki got back so she could ask him. He had gone out to check on his horses and get them bedded down for the night and she had volunteered to do a few chores around the house while she waited. Now they were done, she stood at the sink looking out the window while she had a drink of water and thought about her first day here in Loki’s elaborately designed prison.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

They had spent her first afternoon here exploring the small holding where they now lived. It was a very pleasant property, modelled as it was on many of the farmsteads which were dotted around the landscape of the real Asgard and it seemed to have just about everything one could want. The whole place was too big to visit on foot; by the time Loki had shown her round the garden and the wildflower meadow, the afternoon was stretching into the early evening and they decided that it would be too tiring to try to take it all in during the few hours of the day that were left; Erika wanted to get settled in and unpack her belongings, so they had gone back to the house where Loki had graciously carried her valise and bag up the stairs to show her the first floor. The landing was broad and was large enough to have an area next to a large window where one could sit in one of a pair of large comfortable-looking armchairs perhaps to read or just look out at the scenery with a drink. To one side of this centrally placed window the landing led off round the left hand side of the house to three modest guest bedrooms, each of which had a wonderful view of the countryside and a small en-suite for the comfort of whoever was staying there. Two of the rooms were furnished with a double bed, small armoire and a couple of chairs, but were not made up for anyone staying. The ceilings were strangely shaped to take into account the fact that they were tucked up into the eaves of the house and the rooms were pleasantly decorated in cheerful pastel colours, with the carved wooden furniture lending them a welcoming and cosy air. Loki had opened the door of the third one to show her and had looked at her in an uncertain way as she had gone in to take a look around; this one was as nice-looking as the other two, but it was also made up for someone to stay, with pretty floral linen on the bed and fresh towels in the bathroom.

 

“I was not sure if you would prefer to have your own room…?” Said Loki, “I, er… well, I thought you might be tired and want to get used to the house and being here and…”

“That is very considerate of you,” interrupted Erika gently, and she came back to Loki and took his hand, smiling. “I think I should like this room very much… it reminds me of my old room when I lived with my parents.” She took her valise from his hand and placed it on a chair near the window, “The view is just wonderful, Loki!”

Loki smiled, with relief it seemed, and nodded, “It is indeed. They are beautiful from all aspects and especially so from mine. Would you like to see it?”

“Yes please.” Replied Erika and Loki led her back along the landing past the sitting area and to one of two doors on the other side. He opened one and Erika peeked in to see a real treat; the room was lined from floor to half way up the wall with shelves which contained a variety of objects and above them were many pictures of all different shapes and sizes hanging from the walls. There was a wooden desk and a few chairs which matched the style of the carving in the wooden shelves and she nodded appreciatively at it all. “I love art Erika and this is where I have managed to have some of my favourite pieces brought. I plan to write a manuscript about the huge variety of works to be found in the Nine and this is where I shall do it!”

“Oh that sounds marvellous!” Said Erika, “I do like this room and you have so many things in here… can we come back later so I can see them properly?”

“Of course,” Replied Loki, clearly very happy that she seemed to be interested in something he cherished. He turned to his own room on the opposite side of the short corridor and opened the large carved wooden door, stepping back so that Erika could go in and see the room for herself, hoping that the young woman would like what she found. He watched as she went in and began to look around, seeing the large twin windows which framed the beautiful views, trailing her fingers along the spines of the myriad of books on the shelves which surrounded them, opening the huge armoire to see what might be inside and disappearing into the beautifully appointed en suite to discover what it looked like. She came back out and sat on the edge of the bed and sighed contentedly.

“It is just wonderful!” She said, “It is so pretty and so beautifully designed, yet it is peaceful and welcoming and it feels…”

“Like home?” Loki sat down beside her and wrapped his arm around her shoulders so she could lean into him.

“Like home.”

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Erika smiled to herself as she mused upon more of what had happened during her tour of the house; a sweet kiss whilst sitting on the bed in that lovely sun-basked room had led to her and Loki deciding to lie next to each other for a while as they talked about what she had already seen and they had eventually dozed off in the warmth of the evening. Erika had awoken about an hour later to find Loki snuggled up behind her with an arm draped around her and his gentle snores as he napped were quite delightful to hear; a deep and restful sleep was something he had always found very difficult to achieve back in Asgard when he had managed to wrest the throne from Odin. Even though she had decided to keep a small distance between them for the present by having her own room, she had lain there for a while and enjoyed simply being in the company of the man she loved, in a beautiful home and with no terrible problems looming outside the door to spoil everything as soon as he woke up.

 

The young maid chuckled as she wondered if Loki would be offended if she told him his snoring was quite charming and then jumped as a hand landed gently on her shoulder.

“What is so amusing, my dear?” Asked Loki as he leant in and brushed a kiss onto her cheek from behind her.

“Oh by the Norns, Loki! You scared me, creeping up on me like that.” Placing her glass on the draining board, Erika turned around and leaned back against the sink as the green eyed God came closer to brush a stray lock of hair back over her ear and dazzle her in his gaze.

“I was watching you…”

“Watching me? I did not see you!”

“No,” Replied Loki, “You did not. I confess I may have concealed myself rather well so that I could observe you going about your task.” He grinned suddenly, surprising her. He had rarely acted like this back in the real Asgard. “You were humming and you appeared to be enjoying yourself.”

“It was a pleasant enough activity.” Said Erika, “However, I do not know where to put these things.”

“I will show you…” Loki’s words fell away as he continued to look at her in a distracted way.

“Loki? Is everything alright?”

“What? Oh, yes. I was just thinking how it made me feel to see you busying yourself about the kitchen almost as if you had always been here and it made me feel… well, _happy_ is the word I believe I am looking for.”

 

A sudden lump formed in Erika’s throat and tears came unbidden to her eyes as his words sank in and it was now Loki’s turn to ask her if she was alright. His hand came to her face as he brushed away an errant crystal droplet which had escaped and trickled down her cheek. Her words would not come but she nodded and laughed to clear the blockage.

“I am well, I promise.” She said, “I… I just did not expect… I…” Oh how could she explain what she wanted to say without referring back to the life she had walked away from only a few short hours ago?

“Erika?” Loki’s face was full of concern and this continued exposure to a Loki who was happy, considerate, enthusiastic and kind with no hint of any underlying danger was too much, even for Erika. She was speechless and her stomach began to jump somersaults. She raised her hands to hold his face, her crystal blue eyes searching, trying to find even just a hint of stress or of distrust, but there was none. Loki was simply becoming more puzzled with her behaviour and it occurred to her that she was not following The Vision’s instructions at all. An image of the strange synthetic being flashed across her mind’s eye and she pulled herself together. Laughing shakily, she stood on her tiptoes and pecked a kiss on his pale cheek.

“Oh, ignore me Loki! It was a long and arduous journey and I am fatigued.” Glancing at an old timepiece on a shelf in the corner, she saw that it was getting on for nine o’clock. “I think I will go to get ready for bed, if that is alright with you?” She asked and Loki pulled her into a warm embrace.

“Of course it is,” He said. “You must be very tired indeed and it was inconsiderate of me to scare you like that. You go up and I will bring you a warm drink if you like?”

“Thankyou Loki.”

 

They kissed then, and Erika found herself melting in his embrace as she realised that here she was allowed to enjoy this love, she was allowed to be with him and nothing could ruin it. She went up and took a long warm shower to wash away the lengthy day, then put on a comfortable night gown and went over to pull the covers back on her bed. She had not been fibbing to Loki before; this room was almost identical to the one she had occupied in her parent’s house and it was a touch that The Vision had put in the environment to try to help her settle in. It had helped her to decide to take this one step at a time too; although every part of her ached to be with Loki, his new personality was not proving easy to get used to and she almost felt as if she was moving in with someone completely new. Although it would mean a lot less stress and potential anguish, the complete lack of underlying menace in him was strangely unnerving and proving somewhat difficult to accept. Erika yawned widely as her tired mind tried to process these thoughts and she climbed into bed to get some rest after such a long and eventful day. By the time the milk had warmed on the stove and Loki had carried a mug of hot chocolate up for her, she had fallen into a deep and restful sleep and the God of Lies had been left to draw the covers up over her slumbering form as he smiled at the gentle sounds of her snores.

**Author's Note:**

> I appreciate these first few instalments have been a bit more like chapters of a single story and I'm now wavering about the format decision I've made. I'll persevere with a series and try to make them more like standalone tales from now on.
> 
> Any pointers on what you think would be much appreciated - I promise I don't bite!!!


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